Flesh and Circuits
by Jessica12357
Summary: Jessica, the newest member of the Cybersquad, successfully outwits Hacker on her first solo mission. But she won't leave Pompadoria until she nurses a certain bot to health. Contains tidbits of mild language.
1. Jessica's Mission

Note: I do not own Cyberchase, except the new Cybersquad member, Jessica, which means, as her name implies, is actually me. Also, I came up with the name Geotite.

Important warning: This is my only Cyberchase story that contains some language, mostly from Hacker.

...

The newest member of the Cybersquad, Jessica, walked down the halls of Control Center, her white sneakers dragging slightly with each step. Her parents had told her not to do that, but it was just a habit. She was contacted by Motherboard to come alone, the reason unspecified. Being a novice to the cyberworld, Jessica would've preferred to be come with her new friends Jackie, Matt, Inez, and, of course, Digit. But she was smart enough to know that what Motherboard said was to be followed. Period. The doors behind her shut as soon she walked through them.

About seven cyberfeet from Motherboard's control panel, Motherboard's comforting, familiar face popped on the screen. "Welcome, Jessica," she greeted warmly.

"Hello Motherboard," Jessica replied. "I understand you need me for an assignment?"

"Affirmative. My chief caretaker, Dr. Marbles, has discovered an important cybermineral called Geotite on cybersite Pompadoria. He believes it will cure my virus, but Hacker has so far recovered half of the Geotite to deter the virus from being inversed. You will travel to the Northern Frontier where the _Grim Wreaker _is currently located and switch the Geotite Hacker has with replicas before forwarding to Pompadoria and retrieving the rest of the real Geotite."

"So the replicas don't have the same effects as the real stuff, I take it?" Motherboard shook her head no. "Sounds rather precarious," Jessica said uncertainly. "Why am I going solo?"

"Doctor Marbles and I believe this would be an excellent opportunity to redeem yourself by challenging your solo skills." Jessica nodded understandingly.

"I'm ready, Motherboard."

"Good. Dr. Marbles is out front with Geotite replicas. Good luck, Jessica." She was a bit nervous, but she knew Motherboard would be so much better with the virus negated. As promised, Dr. Marbles was standing by the cybercoupe with a box in his hands.

"Here are Geotitic copies. The progress of this assignment rests in your hands, cybermate. I wish you good luck before you log off." He switched the box from his hands to hers.

"Thank you, Dr. Marbles. I will do my best." Jessica hopped into the cybercoupe with a feeling of anxiety and excitement. On Earth, she wasn't old enough to drive, but in Cyberspace she could!

"One more thing before you leave," said Doctor Marbles. He pulled out a stange device out of his pocket, similar to a tiny megaphone and handed it to her. "You might need this!"

"What does it do?" asked Jessica.

"It's the Transformaphone. Press one of the buttons with your friends' faces, along with some enemies', and talking into it projects the voice out," he explained.

"So it's like a voice disguiser?"

"Your data is confirmed!" smiled Dr. Marbles. He could tell that the new cybermate was quite bright.

"Cool! Thanks again, Doc!" Jessica waved to him before starting the ignition key. "Computer, give me map for the Northern Frontier."

"Northern Frontier...scanning.." said the computer voice. Then a map showing the way from Control Center to the Northern Frontier popped up on the GPS. "Northern Frontier found." Jessica then zoomed off into the depths of cyberspace towards the seemingly desolate Northern Frontier. After a few minutes, she finally landed at her destination.

"Gee," Jessica said to herself, "this place just screams 'death'!" It was spooky, slightly chilly, with hardly any vegetation on the plains. Jessica took a deep breath and hummed her favorite songs to herself to relax. As she marched over the hill, the looming presence of Hacker's hangar became more and more visible. For a quick moment, Jessica broke into a run, and by the time she got to the hangar she was huffing and puffing.

She peeked through the _Grim Wreaker's_ windows, and saw Hacker, Buzz, and Delete standing over a box of what looked like transparent rocks. _That must be the Geotite, _thought Jessica. The glass made it hard to hear what Hacker was saying, but Jessica knew it wouldn't last long when she used the voice disguiser. She pressed the button with Digit's face, recorded an obscene message, and then placed the recorder about three cyberfeet from the _Grim Wreaker'_s ramp. Jessica stifled a giggle as she pressed the play button, then hurriedly climbed onto the ship.

"Hey Hacker!" the disguiser played, sounding exactly like Digit. "Come outta there, you big-" The rest of the recorder was filled with all kinds of nasty insults you don't even want to know about. Hacker infuriated.

"DIGIT! WHAT DID HE CALL ME?" Buzz and Delete followed the fuming borg, giving Jessica just enough time to sneak through the window and switch the Geotite with the replicas. Hacker looked everywhere, but couldn't see Digit. "Where is that damn cyberturkey?" Hacker growled.

"Hey, Boss! Look at this!" Delete piped up. He pointed to the recorder on the ground.

"What the Hell is THAT thing?" Hacker asked. Delete shrugged. Buzz pressed the button, and the same recording played. Hacker grinded his teeth as he muttered more cuss words under his breath in Digit's name, proceeding to crush the voice disguiser with his foot. "Someone is really testing my patience..." Suddenly Hacker gasped, "The Geotite!" He ran back to the _Wreaker, _and sighed in relief. "They're still here!"

Little did he know that it was the replicas, and Jessica was already on her way to Pompadoria to collect the real Geotite.

...

Okay, everyone. It hasn't gotten to the romance parts yet, but it will, and it will also explain the name of this story.


	2. Back to Pompadoria

Jessica landed in the luscious forests of Pompadoria a few minutes after leaving the Northern Frontier. Using a map Dr. Marbles had left for her in the cybercoupe, Jessica went to the Geotite Grotto where the mineral was stored. It was dark and moist and smelled like wet wood, but Jessica kept her cool as best as she could. Being a strong arachnophobic, Jessica knew as long as there weren't any spiders she'd be fine. A sparkling plethora of crystals were tucked into a carved-out hole in the wall.

"The Geotite!" Jessica said happily. She took the Geotite crystals one by one and put them in the box. While she was doing that, Delete was getting himself into hot water back on the _Grim Wreaker. _Feeling slightly peckish, Hacker told Buzz and Delete to bake a cake. Unfortunately, when Delete frosted it, he accidentally used his _wig gel _instead of icing! To make a long story short, Hacker's mouth was glued for ten minutes straight and when it finally wore off, Delete was grounded.

Buzz didn't think that was fair. Hacker's wig gel tubes and the icing tubes he buys look similar. But he wasn't going to say that to the boss in case he'd end up grounded along with his little brother.

Hacker walked over to the Geotite. He picked up a piece and fingered it carefully with his green fingers. "Ahh, Geotite. Without you, Motherboard is totally unimmune to the virus! This is truly the happiest-whoops!" Buzz accidentally bumped into Hacker, causing him to drop the piece. It shattered instantly on the floor. Hacker just stood there, dumbfounded at the sight. Buzz panicked. He knew Hacker would yell at him for being clumsy any second.

"Sorry boss! I'll getta broom for ya!" He ran off towards Hacker's closet and pulled a broom and dustpan out of the cluttered mess. When he returned, Hacker was stooped down, examining the shattered pieces. Buzz gulped, "I-I'm really sorry, boss. But at least Motherboard doesn't have it!"

Hacker shook his head. "No, Buzz, it's not that." He took a book off of the control panel. The cover read _Minerals in Cyberspace. _He turned to page 200, where it discussed Geotite in Pompadoria. He skimmed the paragraphs until he found the statement he'd been looking for: **Due to its hard texture, Geotite is extremely difficult to break; a fall of at least 100 cyberfeet is required to shatter it. **After Buzz read it, Hacker slammed the book shut. "Do you know what this means, Buzz?" Buzz shook his head. "It means this Geotite is FAKE!"

"Let's check an' see if they're all like that, boss," Buzz suggested. Hacker dumped the Geotite in the box onto the ground at a height of only a few cyberfeet. Each of them shattered immediately. Hacker roared in fury.

"I'VE BEEN TRICKED! I smell an Earthbrat, and I bet they're in Pompadoria right now!" Hacker stomped to the control panel and set the coordinates to Pompadoria before sitting in his recharger chair. "The real Geotite is MINE..."

...

Jessica dropped the last piece of Geotite into the bag. "Finally!" she sighed. "My mission is complete!" Jessica walked out of the cave and into the bright Pompadorian sunlight. But just as she pulled out her map to go to the location of her cleverly hidden cybercoupe, she heard an engine above. It was the _Grim Wreaker! _"Uh oh..." Jessica scanned around for a place to hide. She ran into a tree with a hole big enough for her to get through. To make sure her feet weren't visible, Jessica positioned her feet on two woodknots on either side of the tree that worked perfectly as footholds.

The ramp of the _Wreaker _slammed down hard as Hacker dashed into the forest, Buzz following at his heels. Delete watched through the window of his and Buzz's room as they left. A sneaky grin covered his face. "I can get outta here without the boss knowin'!" he whispered to himself. Delete scooped all of his stuffed bunnies into his arms and arranged them on his bed. When he threw the covers over it, the normal eye would assume Delete was underneath, sleeping soundly, in case Hacker came back too soon. Delete popped open the window and carefully climbed down the ship's side. All he wanted was some fresh air and fun, and he skipped off happily into the forest, opposite of Hacker's direction.

From her hiding spot in the tree, Jessica could hear someone running past her into the Geotite Grotto. A minute later, she heard an agonizing yell. "They're all gone!" It was definitely Hacker's voice. He growled and stomped out of the cave. "I just know the Earthbrats are up to this! They will pay severely!" Unsatisfied, Hacker stomped back towards his ship. Delete was picking flowers in the forest. Peeking behind a tree, he saw the boss and his older brother return to the ship.

"I'll have plenty of time before we go back home," Delete said to himself. In the name of comedic timing, the engine started in the _Wreaker. _Delete hissed, "Oh crap!" He dropped the daisies he had picked and ran to the ship. But when he was halfway up, the ship went into hyperdrive into Cyberspace. The force of the ship was too much for Delete, and knocked him off, plummeting him to the ground.

Coming out of her hiding place, Jessica saw someone fall off the _Grim Wreaker _as it took off. Curious, she ran in the direction of the scream.

Delete landed on his back with a sharp, metallic THUNK! The pain surged through his body, making him cry out. Tears welled up in his eyes. He tried fighting them back to no avail. "Dear God," he prayed, "please help me! I'll never sneak out again! Send someone to help me! Please, God..." Delete blacked out for a moment.

...


	3. Delete's Wounds

Jessica hurried over to where she had heard the scream and figure fall off the _Grim Wreaker. _When she was close enough to see who it was, she stopped. It was Delete. Now Motherboard had explicitly warned Jessica and her friends about Buzz and Delete, and now Delete was lying in a painful position, his eyes closed. She was almost afraid to walk over to him, but managed to muster up her courage.

Jessica propped onto her knees and examined Delete. His arms were spread out, the left one bent behind his back, as if in an arm-wrestling position. His metallic legs were arranged in a "V" formation, and his tongue was flopped out, just half an inch from tasting the ground. Jessica put her ear to his chest, pressing her cheek against the metal, which was cold despite the warm Pompadorian climate. Jessica could sense a pulse inside, giving her some assurance. All of a sudden her Skwak Pad beeped.

"Now what?" she muttered. It was Doctor Marbles.

"Jessica, how is your mission computing thus far?" he inquired.

"It's doing fine, Doc," she replied, "but I have a bit of a delay."

"Is there a way I may be of assistance?" he suggested.

"No, no. It's fine," she said quickly. "I'll take care of it, and then I'll return to Control Center." No way Jessica was going to let Doctor Marbles know about what she planning to do. She shut off her Skwak Pad immediately to avoid any interruptions. For a moment Jessica simply stared at Delete, trying to decide what to do with him. _He looks so helpless, _she thought, _so placid, so ador-_ "WHAT AM I THINKING?" Jessica screamed aloud, shaking away the thought. She couldn't have these thoughts about an enemy...could she?

Jessica smiled with irony. "I feel like Claude Frollo loving Esmeralda." She went back towards her cybercoupe and pulled out some necessary supplies. The bag of Geotite still slung over her shoulders, Jessica returned to Delete just as he was coming to. His eyes fluttered a bit, and Delete was surprised to see a young girl, perhaps 13 or 14 years of age looking at him.

"Don't tell me. I'm in Heaven, and you're an angel, right?" he said tiredly. Jessica gave him a look like he was the biggest idiot in the universe.

"You've _got _to be kidding," she scoffed. She unscrewed the lid of the canteen and put it to Delete's lips. "Drink," she ordered gently. Delete consumed the cool water and wiped the excess drops from his mouth when he was done.

"Thank you," he said. Jessica nodded and put the lid back on the canteen. As she did, Delete examined her. She had brown hair that reached her shoulders, slightly curling on the ends, for it would all be curly when she got older (inherited from her mother, of course). She had dark blue eyes behind her glasses and soft-looking lips that were the perfect size, not too plump and not too thin. She was also heavier than the other Earthbrats, with a nicely round face ending in a softly curved chin.

Jessica noticed Delete analyzing her. "You're making me uncomfortable," she said flatly. Delete snapped back to reality and grinned sheepishly.

"Heh heh. Sorry. Say, ain't you-"

"AREN'T you," she corrected.

"Right. Aren't you one of those, eh, Earthbrats?" Jessica's brows knitted together in a frown. She disliked being called an Earthbrat, especially from someone who wasn't The Hacker.

"I am a Cybersquad member, NOT an Earthbrat," Jessica replied coldly. "Though I don't see why that concerns you..."

Delete rubbed the back of his neck. "It's just that...well, we're kinda enemies aren't we?" Jessica looked down guiltily.

"In a way, but it's mostly just us against Hacker. This is my first solo mission. Where does it hurt?" Delete tried stepping up, but he gasped in pain when he tried.

"I think my arm's broken," Delete mumbled. Jessica noticed a dark fluid seeping out from Delete.

"Delete, are you having an oil spill?" Delete looked and gasped.

"I'm bleeding!" he cried. Jessica quickly took out some medical supplies from the first aid kid. She gently rolled Delete onto his side (on his good arm) and bandaged the exposed area, trying not to shudder at the robotic blood coming out. Then she used the same roll of bandages and made a makeshift sling for Delete's arm. "Where did you learn to do all this?" Delete asked.

"When I became a Cybersquad member, Doctor Marbles showed me some quick techniques in case something like this happened," Jessica explained. She closed the kit and adjusted her glasses.

"By the way, I'd like to know your name," Delete spoke up timidly. Jessica smiled at him for the first time.

"My name is Jessica."

"My name's Delete. And...I gotta know. Why are you helping me?" The question took Jessica by surprise.

"Well," she began, "it's my duty as a Cybersquad member to help those in need. You took a really hard fall back there." Delete smiled sadly, then yawned.

"I'm a little sleepy," he said.

"Go right ahead," Jessica offered. Delete laid his head down on her lap and soon fell asleep. As he slept, Jessica couldn't help but stare. What was it about him? Was it his intoxicating blue eyes? His cute, pointy little teeth? That adorable accent? Jessica didn't know what it was about him, but she felt something about Delete that made him surprisingly a turn on. She prayed to speed his recovery, and hoped that she would be able to figure out what to do. Now she had a mission inside of a mission.


End file.
